Indian yoga master who claimed he had lived without food or water for decades dies from natural causes aged 90
- Prahlad Jani claimed to have spent decades without eating or drinking anything
- Jani, 90, claimed that he had been blessed by a goddess when he was a child
- His neighbour has now revealed that the 90-year-old died at his home of old age
An Indian yogi whose claims he spent decades without food or water earned him a band of devotees and the scepticism of doctors died Tuesday, his neighbour has revealed.
The long-haired and bearded Prahlad Jani - who dressed in red and wore a nose ring in the fashion of Hindu goddesses - hailed from Charada village in the western state of Gujarat, where he spent his life in a routine of yoga and mediation.
His age was based on his claim to have been born in August 1929.
Jani's tale that he was blessed by a goddess when he was a child which enabled him to survive without sustenance won him a small group of followers - despite the doubts of medical professionals.
'He died early Tuesday morning at his residence due to old age,' Sheetal Chaudhary, who lived next door to Jani, said.
'He was rushed to hospital after midnight, but was declared dead on arrival by the doctors there.'
Prahlad Jani, who claimed he lived without food or water, in a photo taken on May 6, 2010. He died on Tuesday, his neighbour revealed
Jani's tale that he was blessed by a goddess when he was a child which enabled him to survive without sustenance won him a small group of followers
Jani's body was taken to Ambaji, a town renowned for its temples and where he had built a small ashram and was known as 'Mataji' (goddess).
'The body will be kept at the ashram for the next two days for people to pay their last respects,' Chaudhary said, adding that Jani would be cremated on Thursday.
Jani told AFP in 2003 he got the 'elixir of life from the hole in my palate, which enables me to go without food and water'.
There was no way of verifying Jani's claims, but doctors have said a person cannot go for long periods without food or water without organ damage and the body breaking down.
Nevertheless, Jani's claims attracted the interest of India's medical community.
In 2010 a team of military doctors studied him for two weeks at a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's biggest city.
He told AFP in 2003 he got the 'elixir of life from the hole in my palate, which enables me to go without food and water'
Jani was watched with cameras and closed circuit television. Doctors took scans of his organs, brain and blood vessels, and conducted tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity.
They said he did not eat, drink or go to the toilet, and his only contact with fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically.
'We still do not know how he survives,' neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters then.
'It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is.'
The results of the study, initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, were never published or submitted for peer review.
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